My heart is breaking...

So, if you couldn't tell, I love dogs. Dogs of all shapes and sizes. When I was in high school, my family served as a foster home for dogs through Pet Haven. Over the 4 years that we fostered, we had 98 dogs come through our house. Each one had its own personality. Some of them, I'll remember forever. Others I look at pictures, and can't quite place them. But, I know that thier forever families love them, and getting them adopted, helped us open the house to save another. I'll always remember on friday night when we had 9 dogs- 2 of our own, 3 we were dog-sitting, 2 fosters & 2 that we were taking to the adoption the next day for the foster parent.

It was a crazy life, but it was amazing. Dogs have so much love to give. They seemed to know that you had saved them, and were do grateful.

Mark and I adopted Chester from ragom. They are a great rescue. They primarily rescue golden retrievers, but they will take other dogs in needs as well.

But, I've been thinking more and more about rescue, and where we'll get our next dog from.

My sister just sent me this:
it's Friday early afternoon and the beginning of a holiday weekend. The weather is gorgeous and I should be happy, but my heart is heavy and my spirit has been captured by an email plea by several to Pet Haven to help save the lives of 4 black lab pups (4-6 mths) old. Their time is up, and they are scheduled to be euthanized. I keep telling myself, I know we can't save them all, but with your help, we can save these four. We rescued the litter of 5 found in a dumpster in rural Iowa a couple months ago and 4 of the 5 have already been adopted.

Here's what has been posted on these pups by tireless kind souls who work on behalf of homeless dogs and cats:
"I know everyone is full, especially with black labs, but if you know any
rescue that maybe able to save one of the pups let me know ASAP.
The 5 pups were found in a park in Moorhead, MN. A few days later their
mother also turned up in the same park. She has more time at the pound
than her pups since she was brought in later. The pound does not want to
put these pups down and each day I beg for one more day for them.
There are 5 pups, 2 females and 3 males. All are black with a few white
accents on toes and chest. Here are a male and female that I got pics of.
They are about 30-35 lbs each. They will be vaccinated by the pound, the
fee is $21 for rescues." [note: one of the pups has been rescued since the plea went out so we are down to 4 pups]


Right now, I need fosters for these black lab pups. I need for you to get the word out about our 5 black dogs (and we have a very special, one-eyed black dog, Shadow) and 15 cats/kittens currently in our foster program. Healthy black dogs and black cats are euthanized every day. "Black dog/cat syndrome" -- these aren't just words.

Please, please help me get the word about these 4 black lab pups. If you are willing to foster one of them, let me know. Send this email out to your friends, colleagues, family. These pups are at the end of their line... don't be afraid to ask anyone to help out. Don't be afraid to be a voice for them. If we don't raise our voices on their behalf, no one will.

With gratitude for all you do on behalf of our companion animals,
This is from the volunteer coordinator from Pet Haven.

And, as someone that saw 98 dogs come through our home, I can attest to the fact that black dogs were always harder to find a forever-family for. People say its for a variety of reasons, one of them being that "all black dogs look the same" and that people are afraid of black dogs. But, when you look into thier eyes, and see all the love there. They are unique beings, so in need of love and understanding.

Pet Haven is having a Black Dog/Cat Adoption. So, if you're looking for a new friend, and you're in the Mpls area, please consider stopping by.

I'm crying, so I'm going to stop writing. But, I would just ask that when you think about adding another fur-kid to your family, please consider a black cat or dog. Look for a rescue, before going to a breeder. And if you do go to a breeder, make sure that they have a spay & neuter contract for any non-show animals.

Its been a week...

Sorry!

Knitting news:

I finished my sister's fingerless mits. I'm going to have to ask her to take a picture though, cause I forgot, and I'm dropping them off for her tonight, so I won't have a chance. I'll also try to get the pattern written out soon. Cause I think its super cute, and others might enjoy it. Its easy to memorize, but, the cables are stimulating enough that you won't get bored.

I'm almost done with the back of my vest. Hoping to get that off the needles today. Then on to the front- which should go VERY fast, since its fun!

Dog news:
Mark and Chester went through the Canine Good Citizen test at class. The teacher said that Chester should pass without a problem. So, he's scheduled to take that on June 4th.

Job News:
My current position is posted online. Hopefully we'll get a good candidate in, and I'll have a week (minimum) to train them.

I've been applying for all and any jobs that I'm remotely qualified for in Champaign. Fingers crossed that something comes in soon, it will make Mark and I MUCH less stressed.

Wedding News:
We have a Judge, which is a HUGE relief. We're going to get the marriage license this weekend. Then its just table stuff that we need, oh and the food! So, pretty well taken care of.

So, that's about it. I'll try to do a better post tomorrow.

Almost Wednesday

So, the biking has been going well. I'm feeling more and more confortable on the bike, which really helps. The seat is incrediably uncomfortable, so I bought a gel seat cover. It doesn't really help that much. I think that my bones are maybe just in the wrong place. But, it feels so good to be out doing it. I was so happy yesterday in the last stretch to the house (I go straight for about 1 mile), that I wanted to sing or something. It was just this incrediably happy feeling. So, yea for me!

So, I realized today that my dad's birthday is on Thursday. Yeah. I don't have any ideas about what to get him. But, I'll go shopping tonight. I'm trying to think if I can knit him something- or give him a certificate for something knit. The problem is that it needs to be machine washable- cause it won't get handwashed- more likely it will get felted. Maybe a book. He loves books.

Its suppose to rain all afternoon. While I'm biking home. Oh well, I figured that I should get used to riding in the rain, cause it will happen again. It will be a good excuse to take a nice warm bath when I get home, and sip some wine or tea.

Well, only 1 hour 10 minutes left at the desk- then I get to go home!

Biking

So, biking doesn't come back to you the way that people say that it will. Its scary. But, so far, so good. I made it to work in 25 minutes. Its 3.16 miles. My legs were really wobbley when I got here. But, it was good exercise. And I'll be biking the 3.16 miles home too.

Yesterday we detailed the car. It looks so much better now that 7/8 of the dog hair is gone. We washed & waxed it. And I woke up at 4am with a shooting pain from my shoulder to fingers. It was my right arm, so I knew it was not a heart thing. But, it was horrible. I tried icing it, didn't work. Then I took some liquid gel ibprophen. That did the trick. It just sucked, cause I could only sleep on my back, with my arm next to my side, palm down. if I bent it, the pain was way worse. I'm feeling better this morning, but I think the pain is from all the work we did on the car yesterday.

Nothing else much is new. I've got a start on Denise's second mitt. But, I need to get my bridal shower Thank Yous out. So, after I mow the lawn tonight, I'll do the Thank Yous- then print off all the stuff I need for the job appliation (one has to be mailed in)- then I can think about knitting.

DOT & life stuff

So, yesterday at class, we were doing long distance (30 feet) recalls. While the other dogs/trainers were going, we were suppose to be teaching our dog either to dance, bounce, roll over or jump through a hoop. Well, Chester got really hyper and excited about the rolling over bit, so when out time came to do the re-call. It took us 3 tries, and even then, his finish was not good. Oh well, that's what happens when a 2 year old lab gets rilled up.

I stabbed myself in the pinkie today. Not on purpose, obviously, I was slicing the bagels for our morning meeting, and I poke myself with the knife. My pickie hurts. Its kinda black & blue. Not fun.

I designed a pair of fingerless glove for my sister. The cable is based on the center cable from Twisted Vines. They are turning out so nice. I'm using the Handmaiden yarn that Jaichan sent me in the Hot Cocoa swap- and the colors compliment the pattern so well, as does the thick and thin nature of the yarn.

I was happy to knit these for Denise, cause she threw my Bridal Shower, these were her gift. Well, my cousin (who's 12?) saw the pattern for Evagilines, and told Denise that she's always wanted something like that, and could she buy them (a pair). Denise told her that I was making denise a pair, and that maybe I could make a pair for her. So, they called to ask, and I'm a sucker, so I said yes. However, I've decided that since she won't be able to wear them till the fall anyways, I'm not making them now, I'll wait. And in all honesty, I'm hoping that she'll forget.

I just don't think that she'll truely appreciate them. AND I think that they'll get lost or ruined. So, yeah. I'm hoping that time will make her forget. And the fact that I'll be in another state.

Otherwise, not much is happening. I'm anxiously awaiting my package for the Malabrigo Swap. And keep myself amused by reading the boards on Ravelry.

End of the weekend

I didn't really feel like I had a lot of time this weekend. On Friday, I got off early, since I'd worked late on Monday. But, I spent the time running errands and cooking. So, not really that relaxing. Then on Saturday, Wyatt came over at 8am. And I had him till 4pm. So, it was a long day. Then I had to run some errands. Mark got home about 9pm. This morning, we had to get up to go to Nadine's First Communion. I haven't been to mass in over a year, but it all come back to you.

After the party, we went to the Mall of America, Nikalodian (spelled wrong) Universe. It was actually really fun. For an indoor amusement park, they did a really good job. The rides are great. Then we went to Ruby Tuesday for dinner, and I had my first Bloody Mary. And now, I'm home. And I'm sleepy, and I really don't feel like knitting. I just want to cuddle. Unfortunantly, Mark is working and Chester is chewing a bone, so neither really wants to cuddle.

Oh, well.

My package for my Malabrigo partner will be going out tomorrow, as will most of my Thank Yous from the shower gifts.

Speaking of which, I should go and finish them.

Knitting, Chester, and Wedding stuff

So, I'm to the bust increases in the Spring Vines vest. I get to keep this one- the yarn was my "gift" for test knitting the pattern. I realized that the cheat sheets that I made has a couple errors... well, I messed up in the RS/WS order at one point, and now, the rest of it is off. Oh well, I just made the changes to mine. And I'll edit the original and send it to Dao in case anyone wants to use it. If someone is looking for a cool vest/tank top pattern, I would highly recommend this one. Its a lot of fun, and it looks great. I'm going to be making some modification on the front, and I'll make notes of them in my ravelry project comments. I'm planning on leaving 6 stitches "live" on the front, and attaching the ext 4 stitches outside the back of the neck.

Chester is doing really well. I started walking him 1.5 miles in the morning, then Mark walks him when he gets up, then Chester and I walk 3.5 miles when I get home. Needless to say, Chester has been really tired the last few days (since he and I started our morning walking). Its funny, he's so tired that he's walking behind us on a walk. Nothing like outpacing the dog!

The evites and paper invitations went out for the wedding. So far we have 17 people thta RSVPed via the evite. And I'm expecting that the RSVP cards will start arriving soon. Our rings arrived yesterday. They are gorgeous. AND- they fit! It feels weird to have a ring on that finger. It will be harder for Mark to get use to, since he never wore a ring before.

Alright, back to work.